Led · Equity · Apr 2026

Rapidus was founded in August 2022 and is led by CEO Atsuyoshi Koike. The company is developing advanced logic chip manufacturing at its IIM-1 facility in Chitose, Hokkaido, with plans to begin 2nm mass production by fiscal 2027. Rapidus works with IBM on process development and with IMEC in Belgium on broader R&D, and NEDO is involved in design projects alongside Fujitsu and IBM Japan. It was initially backed by eight major Japanese companies — Toyota, Sony, NTT, NEC, SoftBank, Denso, Kioxia, and MUFG — and early confirmed customers include Fujitsu and Tenstorrent. The government has become a major backer through sizeable R&D support and a February 2026 investment that left it with 11.5% of voting rights and a golden share veto. Rapidus is positioning itself as an alternative foundry offering small-volume, quick-turnaround services, but faces challenges securing steady customer orders and improving yields given competitors like TSMC and Samsung began 2nm volume production in 2025.

Led · Series A · Jan 2025

Pepticom operates an AI-driven platform for de novo design and discovery of peptide-based therapeutics, combining machine learning with biochemistry. The platform leverages over 600 natural and non-natural amino acid building blocks to explore an estimated >10^80 potential peptide structures. Pepticom is advancing an oral IL-17 inhibitor program, designing two families of fully synthetic small cyclic peptidomimetic inhibitors with nanomolar activity targeting IL-17A and IL-17F. Its lead compounds have demonstrated increased stability and extended half-life in vitro and in vivo. The company is targeting unmet needs in psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and other autoimmune diseases and positions its approach as faster and lower-cost versus traditional small-molecule and biologic discovery. The new funding is intended to accelerate development of the oral IL-17 program and broader next-generation peptide therapeutics. Pepticom is a Jerusalem-based AI-powered drug discovery company focused on designing peptide-based therapeutics. Its proprietary AI screens a chemical space of 1,030 molecular options and prioritizes solubility, permeability and other factors to speed candidate identification and reduce development risk. Using this platform the company identified several SARS-CoV-2–related protein targets and designed peptide drug candidates that were then validated in the lab. Those results led Pepticom to spin out PeptiCov, a program focused on COVID-19 treatments. Pepticom has raised $2.6 million to power the PeptiCov spinoff, with funding provided by previous investor The Chartered Group. Founder and CEO Immanuel Lerner has positioned the effort as a response to the likely long-term presence of COVID-19 and its variants. Pepticom develops AI technology to streamline and accelerate the discovery of advanced peptide-based drug candidates. Its platform covers a chemical-space of 1030 possible molecular options while filtering candidates for properties such as solubility and permeability. Peptides are used in various therapies and are recognized for being highly selective, efficacious, and relatively safe. The company was founded in 2011 by multidisciplinary PhD graduates from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and licensed its technology from Yissum. Led by founder and CEO Immanuel Lerner, Pepticom intends to use the Series A proceeds to develop new AI models to increase molecular discovery efficacy and reduce risk for later development stages. The company is based in Jerusalem, Israel.

Led · Grant · Feb 2024

Pale Blue designs, develops, and manufactures propulsion systems for small satellites, having demonstrated water‑based thrusters in space multiple times. The company was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Kashiwa, Chiba. Its core product line focuses on reliable, scalable thrusters for global satellite operators, and it is expanding its portfolio to include Hall thrusters. Pale Blue plans to strengthen production and quality-management systems, establish a production‑technology development site, and scale hiring to meet growing demand. The company will continue R&D and space demonstrations to broaden its product lineup and validate new propulsion technologies. The recent Series C fundraise will support these commercialization and production efforts. Pale Blue is a University of Tokyo–spawned space startup based in Kashiwa, Chiba that researches, develops, and manufactures propulsion systems for small satellites. Its core products are an ultra‑small water ion thruster and a water Hall thruster, both using water as the propellant. The ultra‑small water ion thruster is an electric propulsion system for orbit control and orbital transfers offering higher fuel efficiency than chemical thrusters; the water Hall thruster uses a water‑Hall plasma acceleration effect to achieve high specific impulse with low power consumption. These thrusters are intended for small‑satellite orbit control and attitude control. Pale Blue aims to reduce small‑satellite operating costs, expand launch opportunities, and ultimately apply its technology to deep‑space missions such as lunar or Martian exploration. The company plans to continue development and manufacturing, pursue in‑space demonstrations, establish a production‑technology development base, and strengthen its organization. Pale Blue is a Tokyo-based small-satellite thruster developer focused on water-based propulsion, notably its Resistojet steam thruster. The company tested its Resistojet in orbit in March on a 6U cubesat called Star Sphere, using jets of steam for maneuvering. Pale Blue is building a 2,000-square-meter factory to mass-produce Resistojet thrusters sized for satellites under 10 kilograms and announced $7.5 million in funding in October to start production for customers including Yonsei University. Under a multiphase Japanese government SBIR-3 grant worth up to $27 million, Pale Blue aims to develop water-plasma propulsion and to scale its technology to service spacecraft up to 500 kilograms. The company plans to demonstrate water-fed ion and Hall-effect thrusters, which use electricity and magnetic fields to accelerate propellant, with a demo targeted around 2027–2028 and prototypes due by September 2025 for the first grant phase. Pale Blue positions water as a lower-cost, safer propellant alternative to xenon, though it acknowledges water cannot yet match xenon's thrust performance.

Led · Equity · May 2022

Unifly builds an unmanned traffic management (UTM) system that links supervisors with drone pilots to enable safe integration of drones into airspace. Founded in 2015 and based in Antwerp, the company focuses on sustainable UTM offerings to support growing drone and aircraft operations. The product aims to enable safe and efficient drone and urban air mobility (UAM) operations and to support autonomous aviation. Unifly plans to use Terra Drone’s knowledge and network to expand its UTM system worldwide. The company recently secured capital that will be deployed to further develop its UTM platform. JOIN’s equity participation also signals institutional support for Unifly’s growth in the drone industry. Unifly provides unmanned traffic management (UTM) software that enables tracking and management of drones alongside commercial aviation. Its platform gives visibility on where drones can fly, allows requesting and granting flight approvals, manages potential conflicts and supports implementation of regulations including no‑fly zones. The company is active worldwide and is a selected provider in several U.S. regions including the NUAIR North Eastern UAS flight corridor and the FAA‑designated UAS Test Site in Central New York. It also manages drone corridors in Japan and Malawi and is a selected technology provider for the FAA's LAANC program. Unifly completed a €17M Series B funding round and intends to use the funds to continue building features and expand its product offering. The company is based in Antwerp, Belgium and is led by CEO Marc Kegelaers. Unifly develops UTM and drone operations management software to manage unmanned air traffic alongside regular aviation. The Antwerp-based VITO spin-off was founded in 2015 and launched its application in April 2016. The company has over 1,000 registered users, with more than 30% located outside Europe. Unifly secured a €5 million investment and will use the capital to accelerate growth and build an international sales organisation. Together with prior financing, total external funding now stands at €6.3 million. Unifly is partnering in global initiatives such as the Global UTM Association and ISO to help develop UTM standards and expand internationally, notably into APAC via its investor Terra Drone.

Led · Seed · Oct 2021

X-trodes is a Tel Aviv-based bio-convergence company that developed wearable technology for advanced electrophysiological measurement and analytics. It created the world’s first scalable wireless Smart Skin, a wearable platform designed to monitor patients in their natural environment. The company is bringing two initial products to market: a medical-grade wireless sleep monitoring system for neurological and psychiatric disorders and a flexible muscle recovery wearable that monitors electrophysiology and provides AI-driven, wireless analytics. X-trodes’ single-patch multi-modality measurement retrieves meaningful insights and diagnostics from patients in their own beds and delivers AI-driven analysis for dynamic muscle monitoring. The company raised $4.5M in seed funding to support its go-to-market and product development efforts. Led by co-founder and CEO Ziv Peremen, X-trodes has 12 employees and is focused on scaling its Smart Skin platform.